Espatodea
by Iana
Summary: Chloe learns about Lucifer's ability with a piano and they have an important decision to make.
1. Chapter 1

Consciousness came slowly and with the dull drum of pain on her lower belly. Despite the ache, the quilts were warm and cozy and could've easily been lulled back to sleep if it wasn't for her very full bladder.

Getting up was difficult and just a tad bit painful, but she managed, moving as slowly as humanly possible and as her urgent need to pee allowed her to. She relieved her bladder with a sigh then decided to go downstairs and look for Lucifer. The club lights were dimmed to a soft glow and as she walked closer to the stairs, she listened to the soft melody of a piano. Lucifer must've gotten antsy and gone downstairs to have a drink and listen to some music.

She was looking down at the steps, being careful not to trip, her body aching in places she didn't know were possible. When she arrived at the last step and looked up, her heart stopped, did a painful little dance and resumed beating slowly.

"Hi…" It was a whisper but he looked up like it was a gunshot sound. His eyes, already soft and loving became even more adoring as he smiled at her in that way that was exclusively hers.

"Hey, luv…"

His fingers played over the piano keys, not missing a beat as he carefully scooched over to the side so she could lower herself -gingerly- next to him.

"You play."

Lucifer titled his head, smiling before replying – "I do."

He looked down at his lap, his smile so peaceful and serene she wanted to cry.

"She is My Father's most beautiful creation."

Chloe looked down at the baby, comfortably sleeping on Lucifer's thighs. She had her pale complexion and button nose and that was the extent of Chloe's contribution in that little human's making. Everything else, all the way to her long fingers and curved fingernails was a spitting image of her daddy. The little girl had a copious amount of black hair on her head. It tufted out of her scalp like a hedgehog. Her eyes, dark grey when she was born were now as dark and mesmerizing as Lucifer's.

And ten days after her birth, when she opened those tiny, unfocused orbs and aimed them, albeit without control, at her daddy, Lucifer became instantly gob smacked.

"She is, isn't she? She looks just like you."

In the middle of the night, with just the two of them and their child, Chloe could actually understand peace. Lucifer's fingers were still playing the soft, unknown melody but his silence spoke volumes of the feelings her comment had brought forth. Chloe knew how he felt about Dad. Lucifer didn't really believe he could be loved. Most of the time even she had a rough time getting him to believe she loved him, even if a good part of that disbelief had been caused by her stubbornness during the beginning of their relationship. He covered that up pretty well with his cheekiness and sarcasm but as time went by she had learned to see right through it. That baby was what was finally making him realize how deeply loved he actually was.

She didn't want that soft, peaceful look out of his eyes so she decided to change the subject.

"She doesn't have a name yet, Lucifer."

Lucifer looked down at the baby again, eyes softening when the little girl's face contorted in a pout as she dreamt about something unpleasant, followed by a broken sigh before relaxing into sleep again as he softly pumped his legs up and down.

"You know there is this amazing Brazilian songwriter and singer called Nando Reis?"

Chloe titled her head, waiting for him to finish.

"For every child he had he composed a song. One of the most famous is called Espatodea. He wrote that for his fourth baby girl."

He started to sing in flawless Portuguese, the song he had been playing on the piano on a perfect loop and something in Chloe's belly clenched. That man should be illegal.

"Lucifer, I have no idea what that means."

He actually laughed and shook his head at her.

"The translation goes something like this: I don't know if the world is good but it got better when you arrived and asked – is there a place for me?"

Chloe's eyes filled with tears. Who would believe that man, the devil himself had such love in his heart?

"And what is Espatodea?" She asked, hoping to relieve the pressure of tears on her throat.

"It's a tree. Originally from Africa but it blossoms in several places in Brazil. He used that reference because that child was the only one who was born a red head, like him. Espatodea is known by its orange flowers."

"Well, I hope you're not thinking of naming our little girl Espatodea. And I really hope that isn't that little girl's name either."

He belched out a laugh that startled the baby and made Chloe's face hurt with a huge, cheeky smile. A mewling sound came from Lucifer's lap, the baby's face scrunched up in distress as she chewed on her fist, limbs moving around.

Chloe picked her up, breasts already aching. A tiny mouth latched hungrily on her nipple, making her flinch at the burn. Lucifer stopped playing, turning to look at the nursing baby with a weird expression on his face. Chloe placed a hand on his face, brushing the pad of her thumb over his lower lip.

"What is it, honey? Tell me."

"Chloe, I… For so long I felt so unhappy and miserable… When I came here I had no hope, absolutely none of ever finding such happiness. You showed me that even after all I did, being the epitome of evil, that I could really be loved, be worthy of something so incredible as that little girl, of Trixie, of you. I've never, since the day of my creation felt as happy and as alive as I do now."

She was crying silently now, the sucking sound of the baby mixing with her sniffles as Lucifer caught her tears with the pads of his thumbs. Damn hormones…

"Nando Reis didn't name his child Espatodea. He gave her a name with a much more beautiful meaning. One I would like our daughter to have, if you agree."

"And what is it?"

"He named her Zoe."

Chloe looked down as the baby suddenly stopped sucking, as if paying attention. Impossible, she knew, she was barely two weeks old. Lucifer's eyes were piercing, waiting for her reaction.

"And what does it mean?"

He looked down at the baby as he answered.

"It means life."

Chloe's breath hitched, tears were still falling down her face but she dried them and pulled him towards her to kiss his lips, his cheeks, his brow.

"That's perfect, Lucifer."

Slowly she unlatched Zoe from her breast and turned the confused baby towards her father.

"Zoe, meet your Daddy. Daddy, this is Zoe Morningstar."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: This is a small prequel to the first chapter. It is going to be split up in two; this chapter and the next one. I really do hope you like it. I finished writing and didn't have time to revise it so maybe you'll find a couple of mistakes. If you do, please let me do.

UPDATED: Revised! If you still find any mistakes, please, let me know!

Thanks a lot to all of you who took the time to leave me a review. I live for those! ;)

Xoxo

Iana

P.S: I used Arizona here because I love her in Grey's Anatomy and for me she's the best pediatrician there is in the fictional world. But this is not a Crossover and Shonda has all rights over her. ;)

Espatódea

Chapter 2

He was roused from sleep by his bed moving. Blind and confused, he stretched his arm to the side in hopes of touching his wife and found her spot empty and cold. His eyes snapped open.

"Chloe? Baby?"

"Lucifer!"

His body was out of bed and in the bathroom before he had time to fully process her scream. He found her next to the toilet, bent over a little, her panties around her feet, one hand gripping the edge of the sink, the other cupping the lower part of her belly. Lucifer's blood rushed all the way from his head to his heart as fear gripped him by the throat in a way it had never happened before in his life.

"Chloe, what's wrong, luv?"

She raised her enormous blue eyes at him, filled with pain. On the floor, near her feet, a bloodied pool of liquid. Lucifer thought he was going mad right then and there.

"My water broke."

"Your water? I… you broke the sink?"

Chloe's head titled to the side and her eyes narrowed as she tried to decide if he was being humorous or not. "Not the sink, Lucifer! My water broke, as in I'm in labor. As in Djinn is coming."

His eyes widened as if to swallow his whole face. "You can't be in labor, luv. It's too soon. You still have two more weeks! Djinn isn't supposed to be coming!" He sent an accusing look at her belly.

"Well, try telling that to your child, dumbass! Lucifer, we need to rush if you don't want your firstborn coming on the floor of your bathroom. "

When he had wings he didn't move as fast as he did then. Everything was blurry and fast and edgy. He helped Chloe out of her panties and into a dress. She chose to go commando, pressing a towel between her legs to stanch the bleeding. Lucifer felt desperate, heart beating in his throat, constricted, heavy. Chloe grunted and moaned next to him in the car and he drove as fast as he could to get them to the hospital. Blood trickled slowly down her pale thighs and he worried about what that could mean to her health.

He double parked his car with a screech of tires in front of the hospital, semi-blocking the emergency entrance. Couldn't care less, really. He forgot to put it on idle and pull the parking brake so it jumped forward and almost crashed against a fire hydrant before he did both and jumped up and out of the Corvette.

Chloe was bent forward over her belly, gripping the car's panel with both hands, her face contorted in pain. "Lucifer, I don't think Djinn is going to wait for a proper room."

"Oh, yes it is."

He threw the door opened, gathered her in his arms, bride style and rushed inside the hospital. Blood was coming from between her legs now on a steady flow.

"Put me down, put me down, put me down!"

They were almost at the reception when he set her down slowly on her feet, keeping both hands at her waist.

"Chloe?"

"Motherfuuuuuucker!" She wailed and kind of crouched a little. Both hands flew between her legs as her head snapped up to look at him, her blue eyes almost swallowing her whole face. He stared down at the place her hands were and for the time in history it could be said the Devil had actually _swooned_.

There was a mucus and blood covered head peaking at him from the edge of her dress. He could distinctly remember shouting bloody murder and a swarm of medical personnel surrounding them and trying to take Chloe away from his arms. His eyes flashed amber for a second, half of the people scurried away and the rest of the tiny body inside his wife was pushed out with a grunt. Instinct made him shoot a hand down to catch a human that was somewhat as long as his forearm. He brought the squirming, screaming infant up towards his chest while at the same time blood splattered the floor with a sound as loud as an explosion.

Chloe was as white as a sheet of paper. Her eyes fixed on the baby and a trembling hand touched the huge mop of black her on top of her head before she suddenly collapsed against him. Someone realized the baby wasn't going to be released anytime soon and cut the cord.

A doctor was talking to him but the only thing he realized was that his wife was now being wheeled away and a nurse was trying to pull his baby away from his arms. Lucifer actually hissed at her like a hurt animal. Every noise was muted and muffled and then suddenly, the room exploded in sound – like when your ears were clogged and then popped open – leaving him even more confused. Apparently, angels – fallen or not – didn't deal well with crisis.

"Sir, sir! I need to take her to be examined. Please…"

A blond, small doctor placed a comforting hand on his face, turning his reddish, conflicted eyes towards her as she talked to him like he was a hurt animal. Which was probably true. Her eyes were blue like Chloe's and she flashed a cute set of dimples at him when she smiled.

"My name is Arizona. I'm a pediatrician and I really need to check your baby. You can come with me if you want and I promise that if the baby is okay you can keep holding it."

He nodded softly. "I'm… Lucifer."

If she found the name strange, she kept it to herself and just pushed a hand softly but firmly against his lower back to get him moving. The baby was mewing softly like a small kitten as he walked blindly, led by Arizona. As soon as they entered the exam room he tightened his hold on his child.

"Lucifer, I need you to place the baby here so I can do an apgar test. I promise I won't hurt him or her, but it needs to be examined."

It was hard. It was the hardest thing he had to do but he did it. Arizona stepped in, already placing a stethoscope on her chest and quickly assessing the baby. As she worked, she cleaned it and now the mop of hair was sticking straight up.

"Lucifer, you can hold her for another minute but I'll need to put her in the incubator for a while, ok? Her breathing still hasn't picked up as it should and she needs a little help. I promise she'll be ok. I'll talk to the nurse to set it up and you can take her there with me then. And we'll get some news on your wife as well, yes?"

He was still in shock, his pupils the size of china plates but he nodded anyway, his attention zeroing on the baby once more as Arizona briefly left the room. Lucifer picked the squirming infant up, bringing it close to his face, burying his nose in its hair, the smell a little metallic but not unpleasant.

It was a mystery how the Devil could have fallen in love not once, but twice. It seemed impossible for him to fall in love a third time, but it happened. Not slowly as it had happened with the detective and Trixie. But like a flash, a punch straight to the heart that could easily bring him to his knees.

Lucifer pulled the infant away from his chest and he stared down, mapping features and counting fingers and toes for the first time in that way that seemed naturally inherent to parents across the globe.

"It's a girl… Djinn, you're a girl…"

His eyes filled with tears as he started his study with her hair. Pretty much like his, black as crow's feathers it stuck out of her scalp - in such a copious amount Chloe could probably put it up in ponytails.

Her eyes were opened now, grey as a stormy sky, still blind and confused. Her cheeks were slightly rosy and full, her completion as light as her mother's. She was a tiny little thing; her whole body barely the size of his forearm and that worried him to no end. How could he protect something so small?

She had tiny but long fingers, the nails cutely shaped and pink. Her eyelashes were ridiculously long, brushing her chubby cheeks as she yawned. He rocked her softly; feeling like his world had just turned upside down. Arizona had clipped the umbilical cord and it hung kind to the side, seeming bigger than her whole belly. Her genitals were pinkish brown and swollen – was that normal? His perusal ended with long, skinny legs and huge baby feet as he realized she was apparently as lanky as him.

Arizona had left a pink blanket folded on top of the exam table and he used to bundle her up, worrying she might be cold. Her hand landed somewhere near her lips and she sucked slightly on her fist. He had barely brought her back up to his arms when the doctor returned, pushing an incubator into the room.

"Lucifer, she needs to go in here. I'm gonna put a diaper on but it's warm enough inside she doesn't need clothes, ok? It replicates the temperature on mommy's belly. She'll need to be here for a few hours so you can go talk to your wife's doctor. I promise I will look after her like she was my own."

He looked into her eyes and believed her and that was the only reason he relinquished his hold on his daughter and watched with wolf's eyes as Arizona unbundled her, placed a pink wool cap on her head and then carefully laid her down inside the incubator, on her side.

His feet felt like blocks of ice as he went outside to look for Chloe, half his heart being left behind as he searched for his other half's.


	3. Chapter 3

Espatódea

Chapter 3

Author's Note:

\- This story has a path of its own. As ideas come up I drabble them as eventually they transform themselves into chapters. Don't expect to have any kid of timeline here because we probably won't.

\- Last chapter there was a comment about Lucifer being around for billions of years and it sounding fake him "being dumb" about childbirth. Well, I didn't have the intention to make Lucifer looking dumb. My intention was portraying this "man", very much human now, with the emotional depth of a 5 year old, facing the birth of his first child in a very traumatizing way. I know he has some grasp of childbirth as most of us do, but he also spent most of his billion years in hell, where I doubt many women gave birth. Like I said, the intention was to show a new father, afraid of losing the love of his life and baby in the same day. So, if Lucifer looks a little AU, bear with me a little, please. I just love when he shows his soft side so damn much…

\- Thank you to all the amazing people who left amazing, incredible, inspiring reviews. You always make my day!

On with it, lovelies!

;)

His search for his wife ended when a nurse finally took pity on him (or finally got fed up with him bothering her to no end) and paged a doctor to come and talk to him. It was a middle aged, red headed man, with soft eyes and no nonsense attitude. He said his name was Nathan and shook his hand, an eyebrow going up when Lucifer introduced himself.

"Mr. Morningstar, did your wife have a placenta previa diagnosis during her pregnancy?"

Lucifer ran a hand over his face.

"Yes, at 28 weeks. There was some bleeding, she was admitted for a while but the bleeding stopped and they said we could go home as long as she stayed in bed for as long as she could and we would have to come back if there was any bleeding at all, or the baby stopped moving…"

The doctor nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, Lucifer, a small piece of her placenta separated from her uterus and that caused the bleeding and the early delivery. It was minor but we still had to get in and fix it surgically because she bled a lot. We managed to stop it and she's stable now but it will take a while before she wakes up, ok? We'll move her to a room and you'll be able to see her as soon as she's settled. Meanwhile, if there's anyone you want to call, maybe grab her a bag, or the baby's, I imagine you left in a hurry. Everything is fine with your wife, Lucifer."

His knees nearly bent over. The devil cried.

Trixie was spending a few days with her grandma since her mom was put on bed rest. Lucifer would pick the little rascal up every weekend to spend time with Chloe and him. So he called his mother-in-law, explained the situation and asked her to bring Trixie over as soon as possible. No, don't wake her up to do it. No, don't come right now, Chloe wasn't conscious yet. No, don't tell her it was pretty serious, Penelope, she's 8, not 80, for fuck's sake.

After talking to Chloe's mom, he called Maze and asked her to handle his affairs at the club. Surprisingly, she was pretty concerned but he supposed Chloe and Trixie had a way of warming their way into everyone's hearts. Even if they came from hell. She would also send someone over with Chloe and the baby's bags.

Arizona found him almost an hour later, flashing those dimples.

"Hey Lucifer! I was looking all over for you. How's your wife?"

His head hurt like a motherfucker.

"Hmm, that woman is going to be the death of me, Doctor. And that is a very big feat because I used to be immortal. But apparently she's stable. I'm waiting for them to move her to a room so I can see her."

Arizona nodded, smiling, a little bewildered by his comment but let it go. "Well, your wife isn't awake but I know someone who is and could use a cuddle."

His eyes lit up like she had just handed him the world on a silver platter. "Well, that's just terrific, isn't it?"

Arizona chuckled and thought to herself that he was definitely one of the most eager fathers she'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. After a quick phone call to the front desk, she directed him to the room his wife was going to be settled in – as of yet, empty – and went to the nursey to get his baby while he waited for her patiently, sitting on the armchair by the window.

"Hmmm… Well, Dad… I guess… Thank you. Thank you for not taking them away from me."

It was a pretty night outside. Clear and as starry as a night in the city could be. The moment the words left Lucifer's lips, though, directed at his Father, acknowledging that maybe he had helped keep his wife and child safe, that maybe he had something to do with helping create the family he now had, it clouded over with rain, lightning as bright as energy itself falling from the sky towards the earth in sequence.

One might think – as humans often did – that it was a sign of his Father's displeasure when in reality it was the exact opposite. The rain was a symbol of his Father's tears. But combined with the lightening, sent Lucifer a different message. He accepted his thankfulness and acknowledged the birth of one of his angel's offspring. 25 lightning bolts hit the earth, one after the other in quick succession, signalizing the day of Djinn's birth. A pregnant pause followed before another 4 followed, signalizing the month and then 16 more, for the year.

Dad sure liked his symbols.

After that, the rain stopped, there were no more bolts and night returned to its previous quietude. It would make the weather people crazy trying to figure out what had happened and it absolutely solved none of Lucifer's issues, but it also brought some kind of comfort.

"Hey…"

His thoughts were broken by Arizona's voice as she entered the room, a pink bundle on her arms. "This little girl is very excited to see her daddy…" He wanted to get up but his legs wouldn't support him. Adrenaline had left him on a big woosh and everything he wanted now was to be with his brand new baby, his beautiful, brave wife and Trixie.

Arizona placed the baby on his arms. She was fast asleep, a green pacifier on her mouth covering half her face, one tiny, tiny, tiny little pale hand curled over her right cheek. She was such a small baby, he mused, running a long digit down the bridge of her cute little button nose.

"Hey, Djinn… You are so beautiful."

"Her name is Djinn?"

Lucifer raised him eyes from his daughter to her doctor, titling his head to the side at Arizona.

"It's a nickname. Chloe didn't wanna know the sex, which I found pretty obnoxious if you ask me, so we had to come up with a nickname. We thought it was fitting for the devil's child. It was Trixie – my step-daughter – who came up with it, actually. She's such a clever little human."

Arizona realized she had a very strange man in front of her. But as a doctor, she had dealt with several strange new fathers, so she let it go. After making a comment about going to check on her other patients, she decided to give them their privacy. Lucifer's attention had left her completely and was now entirely on the baby, anyway.

"Seems like you fell asleep on the way here, right? It's ok though, pumpkin, because your mom isn't here yet and I bet she'll want to catch you awake. You know, when I first met your mom, I wasn't really expecting to be surrounded by small humans. I'm still getting used to your sister but I guess she wouldn't give up on me and it made it easier. So don't mind if Daddy sometimes is a little weird about that, ok? I'm still learning this whole attachment thing. Doctor Martin says I don't deal well with emotions. And ever since we realized you were coming, hell, ever since I met your mom it seems every time I turn around I'm surround by those blasted things. I don't know how you humans get anything done, really because it's incredibly disturbing. I think about your mom all the time and now I have all these _feelings_ that are very inconvenient when you take into account I am the devil. How boggled up it is for me to be so _in love_ that even breathing hurts when she's not around?"

Of course Djinn didn't answer and just slumbered on, the pacifier moving sporadically, taking up half her tiny face.

"And then Trixie and now you. How am I going to find space for all these people? I feel like one of those silly humans who like to throw several balls in the air."

His musings were interrupted when a nurse wheeled a stretcher inside the room, followed closely by an attending. Chloe was still out, a tube on her nose to help her body do as little as possible in order to heal as fast as it could. Her complexion was still paler than normal but had a lot more colour than the time she was dragged away from him.

They made a quick transfer, from stretcher to bed, arranged tubes and IV bags, made her comfortable, answered his thousand questions then left promising to come back in a couple hours to check on her again.

He put the baby slowly on her bassinet, taking great care. His hands shook as he maneuvered himself towards the bed and assumed the same position he had a thousand years ago when he had brought her to the hospital with a bullet wound. Lucifer realized that he was already developing feelings for her even back then and the wait for her to wake up was difficult. Now, feelings in full blown mode, the wait was excruciating.

Lucifer was anxious for his wife to wake up, to see the smile on her face, bury his face on her hair to smell it, feel it against his face as she giggled because her neck is a ticklish spot. He's impatient, grumpy and lonely. His skin felt all sorts of wrong, like it didn't belong to his body.

A moan came from the bed and he raised his eyes, hoping.

Chloe was stirring, just small, slow movements, like she did first thing in the mornings when consciousness was coming to her slowly, their bed was still warm and she was still wrapped around him in a tangle of limbs and hair. Her nose was the first part of her body that moved when she first woke up, just a twitch before her lids fluttered open once, twice, her mouth slackened. She would move a hand, usually the one on his chest if he slept belly up or abdomen if he turned his back to her during the night so she spooned him from behind.

If they were tangled up when she woke – and they usually were – Lucifer would feel her yawn and the way she stretched all her limbs with a moan all the way to his toes. His favourite thing in the world was to bury his whole face in her shoulder as he pulled her as tight as he could towards him, rubbed his morning hard-on against her soft belly and listened to that first, good-morning "hum" she gave. She always smelled like the moisturizing cream of choice from the previous night and warm dreams.

Now, though, her "hum" was confused and when her eyes finally opened and focused on him he couldn't help the way his smile was a little watery.

"Well, look who's back…"

She smiled at him, sleepily. "How long have I been out?" Chloe asked slurring a bit and he was pleased to realize she was also remembering the first time they bonded.

"Three years."

His grin was enormous.

"Hi, baby."

"Hey, luv. How are you feeling?"

She moved a little, feeling all sorts of woozy.

"Sore. A little nauseous."

Lucifer kissed her softly, brushing his nose against her temple and just breathing her in, reassuring his stupid, racing heart that she was ok. That they were both ok.

"Someone is very anxious to meet you…"

Chloe's eyes widened, became a little more focused.

"Djinn? Is he ok?"

It had been a constant argument between them for almost 39 weeks. Lucifer was a firm believer they were having a girl while Chloe told everyone she was sure the baby was a boy.

He raised her bed just a little so she was more comfortable when meeting their daughter then turned his back to her to pick Djinn up from her bassinet.

"Well, I hate to point out to you how I'm always right, but…"

Chloe gasped as she took sight of pink blanket and cap, eyes filling with tears. Lucifer placed the slumbering baby on her arms, watching with amazed eyes his wife fall in love with their baby.

"Djinn, you're a girl…"

He chuckled, loving her to silliness when she raised her blue eyes to lock into his, the whole universe swimming in them; so much emotion that Lucifer would have that moment forever branded in his mind, for all eternity.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for still being here. Please have in mind that the characters may sound slightly AU on this fic.

Hope you like it!

Espatodea

Chapter 4

The whimpering was soft, like a very small kitten but Mazekeen was up, having just come home and she knew it was almost time for their nightly appointment. She strolled towards the nursery, her bare feet making no sound as it was her intention.

Maze had to admit Chloe had very good taste. The baby's room wasn't made in horrific pinks and purples, filled with golden crowns or fluffy ballet paraphernalia that would probably make Maze want to kill herself. Instead, the blonde had painted it nice, primary colors. One of the walls was a bright red. Blue, green and yellow shelves broke the sharp hue, small knickknacks carefully placed here and there, instead of a multitude of soft toys. Her mobile was an air balloon surrounded by clouds, a small, pink princess in the basket.

A rainbow was painted on the wall opposite to that, rising out of smiling, chubby clouds. There was a changing table against it and the colors always captured the baby's attention. A rocking chair sat on the corner. When Chloe had left the hospital, Lucifer had bought Zoe a stuffed devil toy. It was big - three times her size - all red with cute, little horns and an angelic expression. On his hands he had a halo that lightened up and worked as a night light. It was on now, sitting on the rocking chair, so Maze could easily navigate to the crib and peek inside.

A cute mass of chubby human flesh and drool was in the middle of the small mattress, legs and arms flailing around. Her ebony hair was up in all directions and alert brown eyes looked up at Maze when her face appeared on the edge of the crib.

Zoe grinned wetly at her, all gums. Unbeknownst to Chloe or Lucifer, this was their moment. Every night, right after Zoe's two AM feeding, 10 minutes after Chloe had gone back to her and Lucifer's room, Maze would enter the nursery to talk to her newest friend.

"Hey, little devil…"

Chubby legs kicked at the sound of Maze's voice. She couldn't help but smile as she picked the grinning baby up and walked with her to the rocking chair. She displaced the stuffed devil, setting it on the floor. Zoe was highly amused by Maze. When the other woman laid her down on her bent knees, she giggled and gave a high pitch squeal. It was a recent discovery of hers and she did it whenever she found something particularly amusing, which was pretty much all the time. Zoe was the happiest human Maze had ever laid eyes upon.

"So, how was your day today, Genie?"

Zoe babbled, dimples showing when she grinned up at Maze, drool running down her chin. It amazed the demon how humans were born with so little dignity but at the same time so cute it was almost impossible to hate them. She kept her voice soft as she talked to the baby and it wasn't long before light padding could be heard in the silence of the night. The door creaked when someone pushed it open and Trixie peeked in, face sunning up when she spotted Maze and Zoe.

The little girl sprinted towards the rocking chair and made her sister squeal again as soon as the sound caught her attention and her eyes focused on Trixie. "Hi, Zoe! Hey, Maze!"

"Hey, Trix. How was school today?"

Trixie went on and on about this boy who had been suspended for some stupid reason and Zoe's eyes were blinking slower and slower when suddenly a 'woosh' and a rush of air signaled the presence of Amenadiel.

"Well, it's a party now." He whispered and walked to the rocking chair, dropping a kiss on Maze's hair. The woman hissed at him, not being one for PDAs. Trixie let out a loud "uncle AMENADIEL" – which jump-startled and woke up the drowsy baby – (was promptly shushed) and jumped on his legs. He patted her head, a little uncomfortably. Like Lucifer, he felt very unsettled around small children.

The baby's face scrunched up a little but as soon as she spotted her uncle yet another squeal could be heard in the room.

"What the _bloody_ hell is going on here?" Lucifer's voice boomed on the small room and like a movie 4 pairs of eyes focused on him. Maze cringed and opened her mouth to speak when a huge giggle-squeal interrupted her as Zoe went crazy at the sound of her father's voice.

Lucifer's attention turned back to the baby, all drowsiness gone from his face and voice.

"Hey there, pumpkin. What's up with these shenanigans happening in your room, huh? Are you a part of this?"

She squealed again, legs kicking against Maze's abdomen, arms stretched towards Daddy the Devil. Lucifer's hands cupped under her arms to bring her up, leveled to his head. Her eyes danced a little before focusing on his face and her grin was so huge drool dribbled out of her mouth on a thin line. Lucifer smiled and for a moment they were exact copies of one another: black hair tousled and in all directions from sleep, matching grins and dimples, love-filled mocha eyes.

Zoe babbled, blew raspberries and giggled away, looking into her daddy's eyes, her diaper-clad bottom secured on Lucifer's open palm as his other hand supported her body under her armpit.

"I see. Well, angel, I know it's fun, staying up all night and having visitors but your mum will kill us if you get cranky and tired tomorrow."

She had both eyes owlishly focused on him, paying close attention to his voice, as she always did when he spoke.

"Annnnd, your sister, who I believe has a very difficult math exam tomorrow, should also be asleep instead of having a slumber party in your room. Yes, that's true. And she shouldn't be up at all godly hours getting herself in trouble, should she?"

Trixie giggled and attached herself to Lucifer legs.

"But Lucifer, you told me I should ALWAYS get myself in trouble."

The tall man rolled his eyes then looked down while bouncing the cooing baby up and down.

"I really said that, didn't I? Well, it's bed time for you. Mazekeen, I believe you and my brother can put this little devil to bed?"

He turned the baby towards the couple, marveling on the practical way Maze picked the child up and held her close to her chest. Zoe rubbed her face against Maze's neck, curling her legs up in the clear "I'm crashing down now" position.

After making sure his daughter was well-taken care of he looked down at Trixie again and placed a hand on her head.

"Let's go, big devil."

"Bye Zoe. Bye Maze. Bye Uncle Diel."

Lucifer cringed. How very domestic of them. How could a trio of women have managed to make the devil, a demon and an angel so suddenly … homey? 3 years ago he was raising hell and getting himself into all sorts of trouble and very interesting shenanigans indeed. Now he shared a house with three women of various ages, had a wife, kids and maybe that dog that Beatrice wanted for Christmas. He managed his night club with Maze, fought crime with his wife and the only corrupting thing he did nowadays was with Chloe in the bedroom.

His father had been strangely quiet ever since Zoe's birth and it was irking him to no end.

His musings were broken when they arrived at Trixie's bedroom. She dashed towards her bed and hopped on it, bouncing softly. Lucifer stood next to it, all proper like in his robe and slippers and once the little girl was under the covers he sat slowly on the purple duvet and stared at her.

"Math test tomorrow. No more waking up in ungodly hours to have slumber parties with Maze and that brainless brother of mine. Our sofa is too small for me and I can't sleep properly on it if your mom kicks me out of our bed."

Trixie giggled but then her whole face went very serious and she stared at him with those eyes that seemed to be dissecting him like a frog on a biology class. Since she had turned 10 that seemed to be happening a lot.

"Lucifer, can I ask you something?"

He squirmed.

"Do you really have to?"

Trixie raised her eyebrow and nodded. Lucifer sighed. "Go ahead then."

"Why don't you like when I hug you?"

Her eyes were a bit sad and it tugged at Lucifer heartstrings. Damnit all to hell those emotions!

"Well, Beatrice. Hell has very few human children. But the ones that are there are worse than any adults I know. It's a mix of innocence and downright evilness that, to tell you the truth has always made me a little scared. To have the opportunity to meet normal human spawns like yourself is a little disconcerting and I know next to nothing about how to deal with the sorts of you. Adults are easy. They always want something that is simple for me to provide. I'll probably always treat you peculiarly – Trixie laughed at that – But it doesn't mean I don't have very deep feelings towards you. Or that I wouldn't protect you with my life. Emotions are very complicated for me … Loving is very hard."

Trixie smiled at him and it was so much like her mom's that in a very rare display of affection, Lucifer reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She had lost one of her pre-molars and it reminded him of the first time they'd met, when she had a huge front gap in her smile.

"I love you too, Lucifer."

She threw herself at him and after just a breath, at almost 4 am in the morning; he curled his long arms around her and let himself feel all that chocking love he fought against so hard. She smelt of Johnson's baby shampoo and innocence and he forgot all about all the evil in the world, about baby demons in hell and suffocating love and just felt it, encompassing and scary but oh, so satisfying.


End file.
